National Institutes of Health
K awards
Margie Lee
Dept Population Health
BHSI Fellowship Writing Workshop
Phase 1 – Feb 5, 2011
What is the NIH?
• Part of US Dept of Health and Human Services
• largest source of funding for medical research
in the world
• Made up of 27 Institutes and Centers, each
with a specific research agenda, often focusing
on particular diseases or body system
• Spends > $31.2 billion annually in medical
research – 80% goes to extramural
NIH Institutes
National Cancer
Institute (NCI)
National Eye Institute National Heart, Lung, National Human
(NEI)
and Blood Institute
Genome Research
(NHLBI)
Institute (NHGRI)
National Institute on National Institute of
Alcohol Abuse and
Allergy and
Alcoholism (NIAAA) Infectious Diseases
(NIAID)
National Institute of
Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal and
Skin Diseases
(NIAMS)
National Institute of
Biomedical Imaging
and Bioengineering
(NIBIB)
National Institute on
Deafness and Other
Communication
Disorders (NIDCD)
National Institute of
Dental and
Craniofacial Research
(NIDCR)
National Institute of National Institute on
Diabetes and
Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Digestive and Kidney
Diseases (NIDDK)
National Institute of
General Medical
Sciences (NIGMS)
National Institute of
Mental Health
(NIMH)
National Institute on
Minority Health and
Health Disparities
(NIMHD)
National Library of
Medicine (NLM)
John E. Fogarty
International Center
for Advanced Study
in the Health
Sciences (FIC)
National Center for National Center for
Complementary and Research Resources
Alternative Medicine (NCRR)
(NCCAM)
National Institute on
Aging (NIA)
National Institute of
Child Health and
Human Development
(NICHD)
National Institute of
Environmental
Health Sciences
(NIEHS)
National Institute of National Institute of
Neurological
Nursing Research
Disorders and Stroke (NINR)
(NINDS)
Institute research can be very broad
• For example, National Institute of Diabetes
and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• 4 divisions: Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases;
Digestive Diseases and Nutrition; Kidney, Urologic, and
Hematologic Diseases; and Extramural Activities
• broad spectrum of metabolic diseases such as diabetes,
obesity, inborn errors of metabolism, endocrine disorders,
mineral metabolism, digestive and liver diseases, nutrition,
urology and renal disease, and hematology.
• Basic research studies include biochemistry, biophysics,
nutrition, pathology, histochemistry, bioorganic chemistry,
physical chemistry, chemical and molecular biology, and
pharmacology.
NIH Funding Opportunities
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Special Funding Opportunities
Standard Research Grants
Center and Facilities Grants
Career Development Awards (most limited to
US citizens or permanent residents)
Application
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Online PHS398 application using SF424 at www.grants.gov
Administrative forms
Compliance documentation
Biosketches
Proposal content (limited to 12 pages)
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Candidate's Background
Career Goals and Objectives
Career Development/Training Activities During Award Period
Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research
Research Strategy
Animals, Human Subjects, Biohazards
Tools for finding NIH funding
Tools for finding NIH training support
K awards (postdoctoral)
Award
Institute
focus
K01
Multiple but agency specific Mentored Research Scientist Development
eligibility & goals
Award
K02
Multiple but agency specific Independent Scientist Award
eligibility & goals
K05
NIAAA, NIDA, NCI
K07
Multiple but agency specific Academic Career Award (teaching and
eligibility & goals
research)
K08
Multiple but agency specific Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career
eligibility & goals
Development Award
(licensed MD, DVM, DDS)
Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship
Award
K awards (postdoctoral)
Award
Institute
focus
K18
NIDCD, NHLBI, NCI, NIAAA,
NIDDK, and NIEHS
Varies – not mentored
(Env health sci, stem cells, and other)
K22
Multiple but agency specific Career Transition Awards (postdoc-> faculty)
eligibility & goals
K23
Multiple but agency specific Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career
eligibility & goals
Development Award (MD, DDS)
K25
Multiple but agency specific Mentored Quantitative Research
eligibility & goals
Development Award
K26
NCRR, NIA
Midcareer Investigator Award In Mouse
Pathobiology Research
K99/R00 Multiple but agency specific NIH Pathway to Independence Award (Parent
eligibility & goals
K99/R00) no citizenship requirement
Which mechanism is right for you?
• Depends on the Institute that is most likely to
be interested in funding your research
• Depends on your level (early in postdoc,
transitioning to faculty position)
• Depends on research emphasis (basic or
clinical) or clinical background
NCI K22 award
• facilitate the transition of investigators, primarily those
with clinical doctoral degrees or doctoral degrees
working in the areas of cancer prevention, control,
behavioral, or population science research, from the
mentored stage of career development in academic
cancer research to the independent stage
• salary and research support for 3 years to: postdoctoral
individuals or junior faculty in mentored positions
transitioning into their first independent position; and
investigators within the first 2 years of their first
independent cancer research position
NIAID K22 award
• Will provide support for NIAID intramural and
extramural post-doctoral fellows (working in
NIAID funded labs or training grants) who are
moving to Assistant Professor positions in an
academic institution.
• 2 yr award, must have faculty position within
12 months of funding notification
K01 application (mentored)
• NIEHS - “protected time” for an intensive,
supervised career development experience in
occupational health and safety research
leading to research independence.
• NIAID - protected time clinical research in the
areas of epidemiology, modeling techniques,
and/or outcomes research
K25 Award
• The purpose of the Mentored Quantitative Research
Career Development Award (K25) is to attract to NIHrelevant research those investigators whose
quantitative science and engineering research has thus
far not been focused primarily on questions of health
and disease.
• The K25 award will provide support and protected time
for a period of supervised study and research for
productive professionals with quantitative (e.g.,
mathematics, statistics, economics, computer science,
imaging science, informatics, physics, chemistry) and
engineering backgrounds to integrate their expertise
with NIH-relevant research.
K08 award
• The K08 grant is a mentored training award for
dentist, physician, and veterinary scientists
who plan to become independent scientists.
• Eligibility: varies by Institute
– Some require licensure
– Most require strong research background
– PhD is not required
K99/R00
NIH Pathway to Independence Award
• The award provides up to five years of support
consisting of two phases. The initial award (K99)
provides one to two years of mentored,
postdoctoral support. The second phase (R00)
provides up to three years of independent
research support and is activated when the
awardee accepts a full time tenure track (or
equivalent) faculty position.
• No citizenship requirement
• Difficulty to acquire varies greatly by Institute
AWARD DURATION
up to 5 years; The K24 award is renewable one
K24
time
up to five years, with a minimum of three years
K25
required.
K23
3-5 yrs
K22
3 yrs
K08
3-5 yrs
K02
3-5 yrs
K01
3-5 yrs
K99/R005 years
Allowable costs
• Salary and benefits
• Other costs vary by award type and Institute
– Tuition
– Research supplies
– Travel
– Indirect costs